ZIMBABWE

Summary of Recent Elections

PRESIDENTIAL
July 31, 20131

PARLIAMENTARY
July 31, 20132 60 seats in the Senate; 210 seats in the House of Assembly

ELECTION ANALYSIS
The 2008 presidential elections were marred by widespread fraud and violence, and were ultimately deemed illegitimate by observers from the international community. Robert Mugabe assumed the presidency for another six years the regular length of a presidential term. Though Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was named Prime Minister in an effort to foster cooperation with the ruling party, only piecemeal gains in collaboration have been made. The tandem has brought about relative economic stability and halted hyperinflation, but the MDC appears to have been outmaneuvered on many fronts by the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). 3 Existing qualms within the government revolve heavily around the notion that the office of the attorney general has often been accused of a strong partisan bias toward ZANU-PF and of using criminal laws to prevent peaceful political activism. 4 Unfortunately, the recent general elections have, again, been widely criticized by both the international community and opposition parties as being fraudulent and unfair. Mugabe was officially designated the winner of the presidential election in the first round, garnering 61.09% of votes. Morgan Tsvangirai rejected the results and declared that he will contest Mugabes victory in court.5 Zimbabwe adopted a new constitution in March 2013 whose key provisions limit presidential terms to two five-year durations and prevent the president from vetoing legislation passed by parliament. It also gives the Zimbabwean people the right to remove presidents who are found guilty of serious misconduct, violate the constitution or are physically or mentally incapacitated. 6 Although this may have been a step in the right direction, the elections were wrought with irregularities and opacity.

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Summary of Recent Elections GeneraL Elections July 31, 2013 Population and Number of Registered Voters Total Population: 13,182,908 (July 2013 est.) Number of Registered Voters: 5,874,115 (June 2013 ) Results: 7 8 9 President Candidate Robert Mugabe Morgan Tsvangirai Welshman Ncube Dumiso Dabengwa Kisinoti Mukwazhe Party Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai (MDC-T) Movement for Democratic Change Ncube (MDC-N) Zimbabwe African Peoples Union Zimbabwe Development Party Votes 2,110,434 1,172,349 92,637 25,416 9,931 % of Votes 61.09% 33.94% 2.68% 0.74% 0.29%

House of Assembly Political Group Movement for Democratic Change Tsvangirai (MDC) ZANU-PF Independents Seats (210) 160 49 1

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Summary of Previous Elections Presidential Elections March 29 / June 27 , 200810 Population and Number of Registered Voters Total Population: 11,350,11011 Number of Registered Voters: 5,934,76812 Results: Candidate Tsvangirai, Morgan Mugabe, Robert Gabriel Party Movement for Democratic Change- Tsvangirai (MDC) Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) Votes 233,000 % of Votes 9.78

2,150,269

90.22

Parliamentary Elections - March 29, 20089 Population and Number of Registered Voters Total Population: 11,350,11010 Number of Registered Voters: 560520411 Results: House of Assembly12 Political Group Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai (MDC) ZANU-PF Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-AM) Seats 100 99 10

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Senate 12 Political Group ZANU-PF Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-AM) Seats 30 24 6

MAIN POLITICAL PARTIES

Movement for Democratic Change Tsvangirai (MDC) Leadership:18 Right Honorable Morgan Tsvangirai (President); Honorable Thokozani Khupe (Vice President), Honorable Lovemore Moyo (National Chairman) Founding Date:19 11 September 1999 Platform: Movement for Democratic Change [is] dedicated to the promotion and advancement of human rights and to setting up of a government based on the principles of freedom and good governance. 20 Party Homepage: http://www.mdc. co.zw/ Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) Leadership:21 Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President and First Secretary Founding Date: December 22,1987 Platform:22 (1)To establish and sustain a society that cherishes African Values and to create conditions for economic independence, prosperity and equitable distribution of wealth of the nation; (2) To preserve and defend the National Sovereignty and Independence of Zimbabwe; (3) To uphold and apply fully the rule of Law, Equality before the law and Equality of opportunities for all people in Zimbabwe, regardless of race, tribe sex, religion or origin; (4) Continue to participate in the worldwide struggle for the

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complete eradication of imperialism, colonialism and all forms of racism; (5) To support and promote all effects for the attainment of the Pan African goal for the complete independence and unity of African states; (6) To oppose resolutely, tribalism, regionalism and forms of exploitation of man by man. Party Homepage: http://www.zanupf. org.zw/

in the country has made it difficult to steer the economy and manage monetary policy. Currencies accepted in Zimbabwe include the United States dollar, Botswana pula, British pound, the Euro, and South African rand. This has led to tight liquidity a situation that occurs when a currency is low in circulation and buyers have to pay a premium to street-level suppliers.24 These issues will be at the forefront of the upcoming elections as the next president will determine if the dollarization will continue, as well as what other monetary and fiscal policies the country will undertake. Even though Zimbabwe has made significant progress in recent years, it is uncertain whether or not the decisions made to dollarize the country will be sustainable.

Driving Issues
The central issues of the 2008 presidential and legislative elections were violence and intimidation, flawed voter registration and balloting, biased media coverage, and the use of state resources including food aid to bribe and threaten voters. The run up to the elections saw an increase in inter-party violence, which led to the UN Security Council declaring the impossibility of a free poll. 23 The driving issues of the upcoming 2013 elections are quite similar to those that were of importance in 2008. In addition, other obstacles include the fast depleting food reserves in the country, as well as the possibility of lifting sanctions on local banks. Zimbabwe currently has a noticeable rate of economic growth, largely due to the practice of dollarization taken on in recent years to mitigate the hyperinflation that made the national currency essentially worthless. However, the presence and use of multiple currencies

Endnotes
1 IFES Election Guide. (2010, 13 November). Election Profile: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.electionguide.org/country.php?ID=240 Summary of the Executive Branch Chief of State: Executive President and two Vice Presidents Head of Government: Prime Minister; Deputy Prime Minister Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and prime minister; responsible to the House of Assembly (Source: CIA World Factbook. (2013, 21 March). Africa: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/geos/zi.html)

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IFES Election Guide. (2010, 13 November). Election Profile: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.electionguide.org/country.php?ID=240 Structure of the Legislative Branch Bicameral Parliament consisting of a Senate and a House of Assembly 303 total seats Senate: 93 seats - 60 members elected by popular vote for a five-year term, 10 provincial governors nominated by the president and the prime minister, 16 traditional chiefs elected by the Council of Chiefs, 2 seats held by the president and deputy president of the Council of Chiefs, and 5 members appointed by the president House of Assembly: 210 seats - members elected by popular vote for five-year terms (Source: CIA World Factbook. (2013, 21 March). Africa: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/geos/zi.html) Ibid. Human Rights Watch. (2013, 2 May). World Report 2012: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.hrw.org/ world-report-2012/world-report-2012-zimbabwe-0 France 24 (2013, 4 August). Zimbabwe PM to challenge Mugabe election victory. Retrieved from: http://www. france24.com/en/20130803-zimbabwe-opposition-tsvangirai-contest-parliamentary-election-results The Telegraph. (2013, 16 March). Zimbabwe constitutional referendum: Why it matters. Retrieved from: http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/9934592/Zimbabwe-constitutional-referendum-Why-it-matters.html Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (2013, 2 August). 2013 Presidential Results. Retrieved form : http:// www.zbc.co.zw/news-categories/55-important-pages/35326-2013-presidential-results.html The Herald. Elections 2013 ZEC Results. Retrieved from: http://zimelectionresults2013.zimpapers.co.zw/contituencies/ Senate results have not yet been released.

10 IFES Election Guide. (2010, 13 November). Election Profile: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.electionguide.org/country.php?ID=240 11 Index Mundi. (2011, 1 January). Population Demographics: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.indexmundi. com/g/g.aspx?v=21&c=zi&l=en 12 Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa. (2013, 21 March). Zimbabwe: 2008 Presidential Election Results. Retrieved from: http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/ zim2008results6.htm 13 IFES Election Guide. (2010, 13 November). Election Profile: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.electionguide.org/country.php?ID=240 14 Index Mundi. (2011, 1 January). Population Demographics: Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.indexmundi. com/g/g.aspx?v=21&c=zi&l=en 15 Inter-Parliamentary Union. (2013, 21 March). Zimbabwe: House of Assembly. Retrieved from: http://www.ipu.org/ parline-e/reports/2361_E.htm 16 Ibid. 17 Inter-Parliamentary Union. (2013, 21 March). Zimbabwe: Senate. Retrieved from: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/ reports/2383_E.htm 18 Movement for Democratic Change. (2013, 21 March). In the Party. Retrieved from: http://mdc-co-zw.thechangingtimesonline.com/index.php/our-team/in-the-party.html 19 Movement for Democratic Change. (2013, 21 March). Our History. Retrieved from: http://mdc-co-zw.thechangingtimesonline.com/index.php/our-party/our-history.html 20 Movement for Democratic Change. (2013, 21 March). Our Constitution. Retrieved from: http://www.mdc. co.zw/index.php/our-party/our-constitution.html 21 ZANU-PF . (2013, 21 March). The President and First Secretary of ZANU PF. Retrieved from: http://www. zanupf.org.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=103 22 ZANU-PF . (2013, 21 March). The Constitution. Retrieved from: http://www.zanupf.org.zw/index.php?option=com_ content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=107

3 4

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23 Freedom House. (2013, 25 March.) Zimbabwe. Retrieved from: http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2012/zimbabwe 24 The Economic Times. (2013, 26 April.) How Zimbabwe FMs Move to Ditch Dollar and Switch to Other Currencies Made Traders Rich. Retrieved from: http:// articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-04-24/ news/38790468_1_rand-zimbabwe-dollar-legal-tender

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